Gödel, Escher, Bach

By Douglas Hofstadter

Categories: Computers & Technology

Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 book asks how a self can arise from inanimate matter. To explore the question, he weaves together the mathematics of Kurt Gödel, the art of M. C. Escher and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. At its core is the strange loop, a system that refers back to itself. Hofstadter explains it through analogies from logic, computing and biology, and alternates chapters with playful dialogues between Achilles and the Tortoise that echo the musical forms Bach used.

Recommended by 4 people

• Chris Dixon: “I read this book, Gödel, Escher, Bach, which was a sort of mind-blowing book at the time.”
• Seth Godin: “Before meta was cool, Douglas Hofstadter won a Pulitzer Prize for this intricately created examination of math, art and music.”
• Naval Ravikant: “I remember that I would approach my other friends in college and would say, "This is a great book, you should read it."”
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: “In Gödel, Escher, Bach, do you remember, Douglas Hofstadter? In that book, which I think won a Pulitzer Prize, very thick, very fascinating book”